Members' Survey Results (Prize Draw and Questions at AGM 3rd March)

Dear All,

Thank you to the many of you who completed our Old College survey. At the AGM on 3rd March, we will be announcing the winners of our survey prize draw. In addition, a special thank you to Gillian Kerr for coordinating this exercise and collating your responses.

The results can now be found at https://oldcollege.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/OC-Members-Survey-2025-Results.pdf.

We were very pleased to report that the results showed an overwhelming 87% of respondents very satisfied / satisfied with our Club with most citing the friendly atmosphere, the grounds, courts, the many varied coached and managed tennis sessions for all abilities and ages, and our coaches as key things they value about Old College.

This reflects enormously on the efforts of all those who have contributed to the Club - members, coaches, parents, and Committee members over the last several years. Many issues and niggles that had come up on previous surveys did not appear at all this time, so well done to all of those who have worked hard to build a Club that our members wanted.

The key area that most members saw as an area to improve - not surprisingly - was the Clubhouse and especially the bar, including opening hours. This would improve opportunities to socialise, as well as improve changing room and cooking facilities. Fortunately, the Clubhouse and bar are the Club’s next key priorities to fix. We’re delighted to received planning permission and are now in discussion with Dulwich Picture Gallery about extending our lease. We also have revised cost estimates which are currently being checked and will be included in an update at the AGM.

We also know that we don't have all the money in the bank. As a Club run and funded by its members, a levy and/or donations are the most practical solution to raise funds for the new Clubhouse if we’re going to finally proceed within the next year. More than 50% of the members responded that a levy of £100-£200 would be acceptable, and a further 19%, would be happy to pay more. (Obviously any levy would not apply to Juniors, nor as a blanket level across all adult membership categories). A further 16% answered that they would additionally be happy to make an additional donation towards funding the Clubhouse, and 32% said they might. Again, such results are a testament to the membership and the positive state that our members feel our Club is in.

A donation would be a way of giving a lasting legacy to the next generation of tennis players and have facilities for the juniors of tomorrow that meet LTA requirements. A donation can also be an amount of your choosing and we can them go further using the HMRC's gift aid scheme. It is therefore likely that we will seek donations first and then determine what levy might be necessary and acceptable to members.

Lastly, there were some comments about the courts, which are central to the satisfaction of our membership and Club. A small percentage felt we should change the surface of courts 1 and 2 whilst an equal number felt we should retain the hard courts. Additionally, some felt that some of the clay courts needed attention. Given that great courts are key to great tennis, in 2026 we are proposing a strategic review of our future court needs including looking closely at the court surfaces.

Obviously, we can only do what the club can afford so we will do this within the financial parameters set by you and our rules. Therefore we will steer a course between the ideal and the practical and set priorities based on what can be achieved by when. If you have any comments or queries on the results then please let the Club Committee know (preferably to chair@oldcollege.com) and, time permitting, we will endeavour to answer your questions at the AGM.

On behalf of the Club Committee

20/02/2026